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Calcium molybdate (undoped and carbon-doped) has been used as photocatalyst for the degradation of basic fuchsin. Calcium molybdate is a ternary photocatalyst. The reaction was monitored spectrophotometrically. The effect of various operating parameters on rate of degradation was observed such as pH, concentration of dye, amount of semiconductor and light intensity. Optimum conditions were: pH = 9.0, concentration of basic fuchsin = 4.00 × 10−4 M, amount of CaMoO4 = 0.08 g and light intensity = 50.0 mWcm–2. A tentative mechanism for the photocatalytic degradation of basic fuchsin has been proposed which involves hydroxyl radicals as the oxidant. 2% C-doped was found to show better photocatalytic performance than undoped, 1 and 3% C-doped samples.

The human visual cortex processes visual stimuli hierarchically. Early visual areas (V1, V2) of the ventral visual stream feed crude visual features (like orientation and edges) into later visual areas (V4, lateral occipital (Lat Occ), inferior temporal (IT)) that then encode complex visual features (like object form). Previous studies have reported a difference in fMRI responses between natural and urban landscapes in certain parts of the brain. Here we asked if this distinction in the representation of complex natural and man-made visual stimuli extends to the ventral visual stream and if state-of-the-art convolutional neural networks (CNN) provide a map to this categorical distinction. To assess this, we used an open source fMRI data set of V1-4 and LatOcc BOLD responses to 1750 passively viewed natural and man-made grayscale images. The same images were fed into the pre-trained CORnet-S, a CNN designed to model hierarchical human visual processing layer-wise. To identify differences in representations within and between the human visual cortex and the CNN, we computed representational dissimilarity matrices. The BOLD response to the manmade and natural images shows correlation differences for the two categories, which increase across V4 and LatOcc. Such differences were also observed in the model CORnet-S for the layers V4 and IT. Our results suggest that the human visual cortex processes natural and manmade images differently starting from V4 and that this representational difference is modeled in CORnet-S. In both, categorical representation is progressively established in the later processing stages. This might indicate that the brain has perhaps developed two-distinct systems for their representations which can be directed through evolution. Further analysis may elucidate the contributory role of evolution towards this paradigm.

Calcium molybdates (undoped and carbon-doped) have been used as a photocatalyst for the degradation of malachite green. These have been characterized by different techniques such as FE-SEM, EDX and XRD. The progress of the reaction has been monitored spectrophotometrically. Different rate affecting parameters like pH, concentration of dye, amount of semiconductor and light intensity have been studied and their optimum values obtained are pH 9.7, concentration of malachite green as 5.00 × 10-4 M, 0.12 g of CaMoO4 and light intensity as 50.0 mWcm–2. A tentative mechanism for the photocatalytic degradation of dye has been proposed, where hydroxyl radical has been observed as an active oxidizing species.

Present study was carried out to examine the reproductive status and incidence of infertility in buffaloes in Haryana. The study was carried out in 40 villages of 10 districts and 1000 respondents constituted the study sample. Data on socioeconomic profile of respondents, buffalo rearing practices, reproductive status and incidence of infertility were collected. The analysis revealed that respondents were pre-dominantly having medium land holding size and their education qualification ranged from matric to secondary level and dairy was the main purpose for buffalo rearing. Major proportion of respondents (67.3%) did not maintain any record and 62.2 per cent of respondents were breeding their buffaloes through artificial insemination (AI). The age at first conception, service period and calving interval was found to be 31.98 months, 42.03 months, 110.81 days and 420.80 days, respectively indicating better reproductive status of buffaloes. Low incidence of calving related disorders such as retained placenta (2.41%), genital prolapsed (1.93%), dystocia (1.59%), abortion (0.69), premature birth (0.21) and still birth (0.21) were observed. The incidence of anestrus and repeat breeding was 9.47 per cent and 6.34 per cent in buffaloes, respectively whereas delayed pubertal and repeat breeder were reported in 9.69 and 6.79 per cent heifers, respectively.

Nanocomposite of copolymer of N-Methyl pyrrole (NMPy) and N, N-Dimethyl aniline (NDMA) doped with HCl was synthesized by chemical oxidative polymerization. APS was used as oxidant. The sample was characterized by FTIR, TGA, XRD and four probe method. FTIR confirms the formation of copolymer and its structure. XRD analysis shows the amorphous nature of polymer nanocomposite. The electrical conductivity of sample was measured by using four probe method. Size and surface morphology were demonstrated by SEM.

Department of Chemistry, PAHER University, Udaipur-313 024, Rajasthan, India Department of Chemistry, B. N. University, Udaipur-313 002, Rajasthan, India Department of Chemistry, J. R. N. Rajasthan Vidhyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Udaipur-313 002, Rajasthan, India E-mail: hardeepshre@gmail.com Manuscript received online 20 October 2020, revised and accepted 28 November 2020 Calcium molybdates (undoped and carbon-doped) were synthesized and used as photocatalysts for the degradation of meth­ylene blue. These photocatalysts have been characterized by different techniques such as FE-SEM, EDX and XRD. The progress of the photocatalytic degradation was observed spectrophotometrically. The effect of different parameters such as pH, concentration of dye, amount of semiconductor and light intensity on the rate of degradation of methylene blue was ob­served. Optimum values were obtained as pH = 8.5, concentration of methylene blue = 1.10×10–4 M, amount of CaMoO4 = 0.10 g and light intensity = 50.0 mW cm–2. A tentative mechanism for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue has been proposed. Scavenger studies indicated that hydroxyl radical is acting as an oxidizing species for this degradation. It was observed that 2% C-doped showed almost 1.4 times better photocatalytic performance than undoped CaMoO4 sample. &nbsp

Introduction The aim of this research is to evaluate the in-hospital and early outcomes of the first 100 adult cardiac surgeries performed at a newly developed satellite center in Sukkur, Pakistan. Methods This is an audit of the first 100 adult cardiac surgeries performed at a newly developed satellite center of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) at Sukkur, Pakistan, from March 2018 to November 2018 with 12 months of post-operative follow-up. Patients were offered off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB), on-pump coronary artery bypass (ONCAB), mitral valve replacement (MVR), aortic valve replacement (AVR), minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS), and congenital adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) procedures by expert faculty of NICVD with a minimum of five years of post-fellowship experience. Results The mean age was 47.11 ± 14.6 years, with a male predominance of 77%. Hypertension and smoking were the most common risk factors that were observed in 32% and 33%, respectively, followed by diabetes and dyslipidemia with a frequency of 20% and 9%, respectively. The mean EuroSCORE (European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation) II for this patient cohort was 1.165 ± 0.50, with a maximum score of 2.3 in one patient. Out of 100 procedures, 51 were ONCAB, 19 were OPCAB, 16 were MVR, three were AVR, nine were ACHD, and two were MICS. Survival status post-operative as well as after one year was 100%. The frequency of post-operative bleeding was 7%, mean post-operative mechanical ventilation time was 213 ± 273 hours, and in-hospital stay was 5.41 ± 0.165 days. Lost to follow-up at one year was 4% (four). During the follow-up assessment, 39.5% of the patients had complained of mild-to-moderate intensity retrosternal pain and 4.2% had superficial surgical site infection of the sternal wound. A significant improvement in functional class was observed in 38.5% of patients, whereas 4.2% (four) had a significant drop in functional class post-operatively. Conclusion Providing tertiary care and early cardiac surgical facility to the people of Sukkur at their doorstep, in a newly developed satellite center, has resulted in improved outcomes, early quality treatment facility, and avoidance of long travel time.

Kα X-ray sources generated from the interaction of ultra-short laser pulses with solids are compact and low-cost source of ultra-short quasi-monochromatic X-rays compared with synchrotron radiation source. Development of collimated ultra-short Kα X-ray source by the interaction of 45 fs Ti:sapphire laser pulse with Cu wire target is presented in this paper. A study of the Kα source with laser parameters such as energy and pulse duration was carried out. The observed Kα X-ray photon flux was ~2.7 × 108 photons/shot at the laser intensity of ~2.8 × 1017 W cm−2. A model was developed to analyze the observed results. The Kα radiation was coupled to a polycapillary collimator to generate a collimated low divergence (0.8 mrad) X-ray beam. Such sources are useful for time-resolved X-ray diffraction and imaging studies.

The molecular diversity of rumen methanogens was investigated using 16S rDNA gene library prepared from the rumen contents of Nili-Ravi buffaloes. Microbial genomic DNA was isolated from four adult male fistulated buffaloes and PCR conditions were set up using specific primers. Amplified product was cloned into a suitable vector, and the inserts of positive clones were sequenced. A total of 142 clones were examined, and the analysis revealed 46 species level (0.01 distance) operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Twenty six OTUs comprising 89 clones (63% of the total clones) were taxonomically assigned to Methanobacterium genus and the majority of them had highest percent identity with Methanobacterium flexile among cultured methanogens. Five OTUs comprising 27 clones (19% of total clones) were taxonomically assigned to Methanomicrobium genus and these clones showed highest sequence identity with Methanomicrobium mobile. Only two OTUs comprising 6 clones (4% of total clones) were assigned to Methanobrevibacter genus. A total of 17 clones belonging to 10 species level OTUs showed highest percent identity (ranging from 85 to 95%) with Methanomassilicoccus luminyensis and were taxonomically classified as Methanomassiliicocaceae. Out of the 142 rDNA clones, 112 clones, which constitute 79% of the total clones representing 42 OTUs, had less than 98.5% sequence identity with any of the cultured strains of methanogens and represent novel species of methanogens. This study has revealed the largest assortment of hydrogenotrophic methanogen phylotypes ever identified from the rumen of Nili-Ravi buffaloes. The study indicates that Methanobacterium is the most dominant methanogen in the rumen of Nili-Ravi buffalo. This is also the first report on the presence of methanogens phylogenetically close to M. luminyensis, an H2 dependent methylotrophic methanogen, in the rumen of buffaloes at such a high level of abundance.

The K-α and K-β x-ray emission (at 8.05 keV and 8.9 keV respectively) produced from a copper target by the impact of 25 keV hydrogen (H+) and nitrogen (N+) ion beams, and 200 keV for argon (Ar+8) beams from an electron cyclotron resonance ion source (ECRIS), has been studied experimentally. The K-α x-ray line intensity exhibited an increase with increasing ion beam energy with a scaling law IK-α∝Eγ, where the scaling exponent γ was 4.0, 4.2, and 4.1 for hydrogen, nitrogen, and argon ion beam respectively. The results can be explained by considering the K-shell ionization cross-section for ion impact. The peak to background ratio of x-ray line intensity was observed to increase rapidly with the ion beam energy and highest ratio of 6×105 was observed for hydrogen ions. The study is important for optimizing ECRIS for generating a low cost, long life x-ray source for applications in material science.

A systematic investigation on the synthesis, characterization, optical and magnetic properties of Co doped ZnO nanocrystals have been reported. Nanocrystals of Zn1−xCoxO (where x = 0.05 and 0.10) were synthesized using the Sol–gel technique. Structural, optical and magnetic properties of the samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–VIS–NIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and SQUID magnetometer. Energy dispersive X-ray, Scanning electron microscopic, XRD and Raman measurements showed that the Co ions were successfully doped at the Zn site in the wurtzite type ZnO lattice. An appreciable blue shift in the absorption spectrum was observed, which indicates that the Co doping in ZnO leads to systematic increase in the band-gap with dopant concentration. Magnetization studies showed that the Co doped ZnO nanocrystals display room temperature ferromagnetism and the ferromagnetic ordering strengthens with the Co concentration.

A generalized optimal pulsewidth modulation (PWM) technique applicable to multilevel inverters for low-switching-frequency control of medium-voltage high-power industrial ac drives is presented. Proposed synchronous optimal PWM method allows setting the maximum switching frequency to a low value without compromising the harmonic distortion of machine currents. Low switching frequency reduces the switching losses of the power semiconductor devices, resulting in higher inverter power output and efficiency. The proposed optimization results in low harmonic distortion at low switching frequency. Experimental results of a five-level inverter drive using optimal PWM are presented.

Phenylarsenic(III) Dimethoxide reacts with N-/S- alkyl of 2-aminocyclopentene 1- carbodithioic acid and its nitrogen-/sulfur-alkyl derivatives in 1:2 and 1:1 molar ratio yields some new complexes and addition complexes of the type: where R′ = ─H,─CH 3 ,─C 2 H 5 ,─C 4 H 9 and R = ─CH 3 and CH 2 N(C 2 H 5 ). Reactants were mixed in 1:1 and 1:2 molar ratios and the resulting mixture was refluxed for 5 to 6 h to ensure completion of the reaction. Sodium chloride precipitated was filtered off. Yellow to dark brown colored solids were isolated; these complexes were found to be soluble in common organic solvents (e.g., CHCl 3 , etc.) These complexes and additional complexes have been characterized by physicochemical and spectroscopic studies.

2,3-dihydro-2,2-disubstituted benzothiazole reacts with triphenyl bismuth in a 1:1 molar ratio in dry benzene solution surprisingly to yield substituted derivatives of the type Ph2Bi[SC6H4N = CR(R′)], where R = R′ = C2H5;R = CH3, and R′ = CH3,C6H5,C6H4CH3-4,C6H4Cl-4,R = H,R′ = C6H5. To ensure completion of the reaction, the mixture was refluxed for ∼ 8–10 hours. The solvent was removed under reduced pressure, which yielded dark brown viscous liquid and solids. The newly synthesized compounds are found to be soluble in common organic solvents (e.g., CHCl3, CH2Cl2 etc.) and have been characterized by spectroscopic methods (IR, NMR,1H, and 13C) and physical chemical studies. On the above basis, a bidentate chelating structure has been suggested.

This article presents some of the recent experimental studies in ultra-high intensity laser-matter interaction, carried out at Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, India, at laser intensities of ∼3×1018 and ∼5×1019 W/cm2, using 10TW and 150 TW Ti:sapphire laser systems.

Ion-Sensitive Field-Effect Transistor (ISFET) is a popular potentiometric chemical/bio-chemical sensor. However, due to charge screening, the sensitivity of the device is significantly reduced. A logarithmic dependence is exhibited between the charge present at the electrolyte-insulator interface and the charge mirrored in the conducting channel, which limits the sensitivity of an ideal conventional ISFET to 59.2 mV/pH, also known as the Nernstian limit. Using Dual-Gate effect in Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) technology improves the sensitivity of ISFET. MOSFET test structures are generally fabricated along with ISFETs on the same wafer. In this paper, we have demonstrated the dual gate operation of a Near-Fully Depleted (NFD) SOI MOSFET, by simulating its behavior in SILVACO™ TCAD tool and validating it with the test results of fabricated NFDSOI MOSFET. It is observed that the threshold voltage and drain current of the transistor can be manipulated by applying a potential to the back gate.

Phenylarsenic(III) dimethoxide derivatives of substituted benzothia-zolines having the general formula PhAs(OMe) 2 where R = CH 3 , R′ = CH 3 (1), R = C2H5, R′ = C2H5 (2), R = H, R′ = C6H5 (3), R = CH 3 , R′ = C6H5 (4) R = CH3, R′ = C6H4CH3-4 (5), R = CH3, R′ = C6H4Cl-4 (6), have been synthesized by the reaction of PhAs(OMe)2 (prepared in situ) with substituted benzothiazolines in a 1:1 molar ratio in refluxing benzene solution. These newly synthesized complexes have been characterized by elemental analysis and molecular weight measurements. The spectral studies IR, 1 H, and 13 C NMR show the formation of the additional products in which the nitrogen atom of the benzothiazoline-ring coordinate to the central arsenic atom. A distorted trigonal bipyramidal geometry around arsenic atom has been tentatively proposed for these derivatives.

Reactions of 2-aminocyclopentene-1-carbodithioic acid and its N-alkyl derivatives were carried out with Ph3Bi in 1:2 molar ratioin refluxing benzene yield the compounds having general formula where R = −H(1), ═ CH3(2),═C2H5(3), ═C4H9(4). However, the reaction of Ph3 Bi and S-alkyl derivatives of 2-aminocyclopentene-1-carbodithioic acid in 1:1 as well as 1:2 molar ratio leads to the formation of addition product of the type R = −CH3(5), ═CH2N(C2H5)2(6). All of these compounds have been characterized on the basis of elemental analysis and spectral (IR and NMR) studies.

Field experiments were conducted during 1993/94 and 1994/95 in the sub-humid tropic environment of northern India to identify suitable irrigation schedule(s) for winter maize (December to May). Based on plant growth stages, viz. knee-high, tasselling, flowering, silking, grain-filling and dough, which occurred, respectively, at 55, 75, 95, 105, 125 and 145 days after planting, the crop was subjected to six irrigation treatments, which were: no irrigation (I0); irrigation given at all the growth stages (I1); irrigation missed at knee-high (I2); at knee-high and dough (I3); at knee-high, flowering and grain-filling (I4); and at knee-high, flowering, silking and dough stages (I5). The change in profile soil water content, ΔW (depletion) of the entire crop-growing season was found to be in the order I0 >I5 >I4 >I3 >I2 >I1. Of the total net water use (NWU), about 87% was evapotranspiration and 13% deep percolation losses. The NWU was highest (472 and 431 mm) under I1 and lowest (223 and 240 mm) under the I0 treatment during the two cropping seasons. Compared to I1, NWU in I3 decreased by 23% and 12.3% and in I4 by 33.8% and 24.2% in the two cropping seasons. However, there was no statistically significant difference (at LSD, P=0.05) between yields of the I1 to I4 treatments during either year. The NWU was found to be in the order I1 >I2 >I3 >I4 >I5 >I0, whereas the water-use efficiency (WUE) based on NWU was found to be in the reverse order: I5 >I4 >I3 >I0 >I2 >I1. Maximum yield (5.14 t ha–1) with WUE of 1.39 kg m–3 was obtained under the I3 treatment. However, optimum yield (4.91 t ha–1) with high WUE of 1.54 kg m–3 was under I4. Accordingly, irrigation applications greater than 240 mm did not provide additional yield of winter maize. Frequent irrigations (I1) proved detrimental to grain yield of winter maize in the northern Indian plains, especially under cool weather conditions, where minimum temperature (6°C) can be accompanied by occasional frost.

High-quality, stable electron beams are produced from self-injected laser wakefield acceleration using the interaction of moderate 3 TW, 45 fs duration Ti:sapphire laser pulses with high density ($g5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{19}\text{ }\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$) helium gas jet plasma. The electron beam has virtually background-free quasimonoenergetic distribution with energy ${35.6}_{\ensuremath{-}2.5}^{+3.9}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}$, charge ${3.8}_{\ensuremath{-}1.2}^{+2.8}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{pC}$, divergence and pointing variation $\ensuremath{\sim}10\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{mrad}$. The stable and high quality of the electron beam opens an easy way for applications of the laser wakefield accelerator in the future, particularly due to the widespread availability of sub-10 TW class lasers with a number of laser plasma laboratories around the world.

Magnetostrictive materials undergo changes in their magnetic permeability when subjected to stress, making them ideal for use in non-contacting torque measuring arrangements. An isotopic GMM (giant magnetostrictive material) ring made by powder metallurgy technology was twisted magnetically and the output signal measured in terms of peak voltage. A solenoid coil was used for inducing axial magnetic field in the GMM ring. Another coil wound toroidally applies circumferential magnetic field. As both fields are applied simultaneously, magnetons are directed diagonally producing a twist or torque into the ring. The torque creates tensile stress and compressive stress in the directions respective to the resultant induction vector. For producing change in the flux with respect to time, a low frequency AC signal was imposed over the axially applied magnetic field. A toroidal search coil was used to detect changes in the permeability of the GMM ring. Output voltage of the search coil is a direct measurement of the amount of torque applied to the ring.

This study presents a novel application of giant magnetostrictive material to a three-dimensional vibration sensor. It is called three-dimensional since it is intended to measure a vibration exerted along an arbitrary direction. The sensor signals are measured when the sensor attitude relative to the direction of a vibration is varied. Based on these measurements identification of an unknown vibration is attempted by means of a learning technique. A neural network is employed in order to learn measurement data. Generalization of the trained network is tested on unknown sample data.

Root length density (Lv), leaf water potential (Ψ leaf) and yield of rice were studied in 1983 and 1984 on a Phool bagh clay loam (Typic Haplaquoll) and on a Beni silty clay loam (Aquic Hapludoll) in the Tarai region of Uttar Pradesh under naturally fluctuating shallow (0.07–0.92 m) and medium-depth (0.13–1.26 m) water table conditions with six water regimes ranging from continuous submergence under 0.05 m ± 0.02 m (Ic) to completely rainfed (Io). In irrigation treatments, Ic1, Ic3, Ic5, and Ic7, 0.07 m irrigation was applied on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 respectively, after the disappearance of ponded water. Maximum rooting depth (0.55 m in the shallow and 0.65 m in the medium-depth water table) was attained at the dough stage (125 days after transplanting) and was more strongly influenced by fluctuations in water table depth than by the water regime. For wet regimes (Ic1–Ic5), roots were concentrated at and above the water table interface and had greater horizontal development, whereas in dry regimes, (Ic7 and Io) they were concentrated in lower horizons and had a more vertical distribution. Like Lv, Ψ leaf was not significantly affected by water regime up to 90–95 days after rice transplanting but was significantly affected thereafter, except for Lv beneath 0.2 m–0.25 m. Grain yields with irrigation treatments Ic1 and Ic3 under shallow and Ic1 under medium-depth water table conditions were not significantly different from those under continuous submergence, but there was a (nonsignificant) trend to lower yield with less water. However, differences among the wet regimes (Ic, Ic1, and Ic3) were small (141–490 kg ha–1) under shallow and 413–727 kg ha–1 under medium-depth water table conditions. The results demonstrate that optimum yield (5500–6000 kg ha–1) could be obtained under Tarai conditions by adopting an intermittent irrigation schedule of 3–5 days after the disappearance of ponded water under shallow, and of 1–3 days under medium-depth water table conditions, in place of continuous submergence.

A magnetostrictive vibration sensor has several advantages over conventional piezoelectric sensors. First, due to the high impedance output signal, piezoelectric sensors require a charge to voltage converter and a power supply to process the signal. In the case of the magnetostrictive sensors, the output signal is already a low impedance voltage which can be analyzed directly. A second advantage is its structural simplicity. The sensor can be easily assembled or disassembled. A third advantage of the magnetostrictive vibration sensor can be attributed to the high Curie temperature of magnetostrictive materials, which stands at 380°C as compared to 180°C for a typical piezoelectric material. This study presents a novel application of giant magnetostrictive material to a three-dimensional vibration sensor. The sensor is called three-dimensional because it is intended to measure a vibration exerted along an arbitrary direction. Sensor signals are measured for various directions of vibration based on which the identification of unknown vibration is attempted. A neural network is employed to learn the observed data. The generalization of the trained network is tested on unknown vibrations.

The effect of laser beam aperturing (Ti: sapphire laser; 800 nm, 45 fs) on the conversion efficiency (CE), harmonic yield and spatial coherence of high order harmonics generated from a low excited plasma plume of carbon (neutral and singly charged ions) is studied. The optimization of CE by varying the aperture size in combination with different laser and plasma plume parameters was carried out. The CE of the 15th harmonic is enhanced from ~10−7 for an unapertured laser beam to ~10−6 for ~¼ times the unapertured beam diameter, at same laser energy in both cases. Further, it was found that, at a given aperture size, there is an optimum prepulse intensity for maximum CE. The results are explained by taking into account the theoretical consideration of phase matching issues in plasma plumes. The study shows that tuning the prepulse intensity and aperture size gives an easy handle to increase the harmonic conversion along with its coherence properties. The study will be useful for producing an intense source of harmonics with high spatial coherence from plasmas plumes for applications.

Novel hexa-coordinated mixed-ligand complexes of copper(II) and cobalt(II) of the general compositions [M(SB) (L-L) (H2O)] and [M(SB) (L)2(H2O)], where L-L = DMMASPHP and SBH2 = hbzaaH2 or hbzatH2 for M = Cu(II) or Co(II), and L = MPHP and SBH2 = hbzaaH2 or hbzatH2 for M = Cu(II) or Co(II), have been synthesised by refluxing the respective metal salt/Schiff base/pyrazoline derivative in ethanol. The resulting complexes have been characterized on the basis of analytical data, conductance and magnetic measurements and infrared spectral studies. Suitable octahedral structures have been proposed for these complexes.

An outbreak of sheep pox occurred in December 2001 on a sheep breeding farm in Jammu, India. The farm maintains three exotic breeds of sheep, i.e. American Merino, Rambouillet and Australian cross. The disease agent was confirmed as sheep pox virus by clinical and post-mortem examination as well as laboratory testing. Typical pock lesions were dispersed over the body of the affected animals with nodular lesions observed in the lung tissue of the dead animals. Sheep pox virus antigen and antibody were detected in infected tissue and convalescent sera, respectively, with serological tests. Viral deoxyribonucleic acid was extracted from the infected tissue and amplified using a diagnostic polymerase chain reaction. Sheep of the Rambouillet breed were found to be most susceptible to infection with morbidity and mortality rates of 26.9% and 8.3%, respectively. Morbidity and mortality rates in the entire flock were 18.4% and 6.3%, respectively. The grazing and migration pattern indicates that the disease was probably introduced to the farm by local sheep.

Empyema thoracis continues to remain a serious complication of Pneumonia in children. A number ofstudies are available on demographics, etiology and treatment of empyema but no useful information isavailable on hemodynamic changes occurring in response to acute empyema. Therefore we aimed to evaluatethe serial haemodynamic changes in children with acute empyema and their correlation with severity andout come of the disease.Serial haemodynamic changes were studied prospectively in 25 children with acute empyema before andafter the placement of chest tube and subsequently on day 1, 2, 3 and 10 of hospitalization. Twenty-five ageand sex matched children served as their controls.Their age ranged from 8 months to 12 years (mean 4.2 years). Severity of empyema was graded as mild,moderate and severe in 11, 6 and 8 children respectively. Staphylococcus aureus was the commonestorganism isolated in 11 children. At admission all the children were febrile (mean temp 39.4C) hadtachycardia (mean HR136/mt) and tachypnea (mean RR 62/mt).While CVP was high (10.2? 4cm H2O), thesystolic (102 ? 4mmHg) and mean arterial pressure(77? 3mmHg) was at lower side as compared to theircontrols.The mean changes observed after the chest tube placement were HR- 6/mt; RR - 4.44/ mt; SBP+5mmHg; DBP +2.04mmHg; MAP +3mmHg and CVP-3.1cm H2o (p